October 4
1900s-1920s * 1906 - The Chicago Cubs won their 116th game of 152 played for a winning percentage (.763) that has not been matched. * 1917 - After the Brooklyn Robins beats the Boston Braves, 5–1 in game one, Boston responds with a 4–2 victory in the nitecap. The 40-inning scoreless streak of Art Nehf ended, when a walk followed by a single and a sacrifice fly in the eight inning produce a run for Brooklyn. Nehf holds on for the victory over Leon Cadore and finishes the year at 17–8 for the sixth-place Braves. In game one, Sherry Smith evens his season's record, beating Jack Scott. * 1919 - Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Cicotte makes two errors in one inning of Game Four to give the Cincinnati Reds the only runs of the game. He walks none and gives up five hitss, including three by Jimmy Ring, and Cincinnati wins, 2–0. The Reds lead the World Series three games to one. * 1922 - For the first time, the entire World Series will be broadcast over the radio. Writer Grantland Rice does the announcing of the NY Giants-NY Yankees Series for station WJZ, in Newark, NJ, whose signal is relayed to WGY in Schenectady, NY. * 1924 - New York Giants third baseman Freddie Lindstrom, at 18 years, 10 months, is the youngest ever to play in a World Series. President Calvin Coolidge is among 35,760 who jam the stands for Game One in Washington D.C. Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators loses his World Series debut 4–3 in 12 innings. * 1925 - Harry Heilmann gets six hits in Detroit's doubleheader sweep over the Browns, 10–4 and 11–6, to edge out teammate Ty Cobb for the batting crown, .393 to .389. Cobb bats over .300 for the 20th time. In the second game, fans saw the unusual spectacle of two managers, both famous hitters, pitch against each other in the season finale. George Sisler of the Browns and Ty Cobb of Detroit both pitch in relief for the two clubs. Cobb is perfect in his one inning, while Sisler holds Detroit scoreless in two. *1928 - Game One of the World Series between the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals is a swift execution before 61,425 fans at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth has a single and double, and scored two runs, once on Bob Meusel's fourth-inning home run, and Lou Gehrig is 2-for-4 with two RBI off Bill Sherdel. Pitcher Waite Hoyt sets the Cardinals down with three hits, one a solo home run by Jim Bottomley in the seventh inning, for a 4–1 victory. 1930s-1940s *1930 - In the World Series, Bill Hallahan of the St. Louis Cardinals blanks the Philadelphia Athletics 5–0. Jack Quinn, at age 46, pitches two innings of relief against the Cardinals, thereby becoming the oldest player to appear in a WS game. *1933 - Scoring six runs in the sixth inning, the New York Giants make it two in a row over the Washington Senators in Game Two of the World Series. The Senators are again held to five hits. *1934 - Schoolboy Rowe evens the World Series with a 12-inning, 3–2 victory, shutting out the St. Louis Cardinals over the final nine innings. The Detroit Tigers tie the game in the 9th inning and win on Goose Goslin's single. * 1939 - The World Series begins at Yankee Stadium, with the Cincinnati Reds playing their first Series since the infamous 1919 matchup against the Chicago White Sox. With the Yankees as heavy favorites, the game is tied 1–1 until the last of the ninth inning, when Yankees catcher Bill Dickey singles home the winning run. *1942: **In the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals get six runs in the fourth inning, but the Yankees tie the game with five in the sixth. St. Louis scores three more runs to win 9–6 in a 22-hit game. **In a rematch of last year's IBA world championship, Cuba tops Venezuela[[, 8–0, behind [[Connie Marrero's three-hitter. Venezuela is led by second baseman Luis Aparicio, Sr. and losing pitcher Chino Canónico. The 31-year-old Marrero will debut with the Washington Senators in 1950. * 1944 - The only all-St. Louis World Series opens with the Browns, as the visiting team, beating the Cardinals on George McQuinn's home run, 2–1. Denny Galehouse is the winning pitcher and Mort Cooper the loser despite allowing just two hits. *1947 - Pitcher Frank Shea throws a four-hitter and helps his own cause hitting two singles, as the New York Yankees win 2–1 over the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game Five of the World Series. A home run by Joe DiMaggio in the fifth inning is the margin. * 1948 - The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox 8–3 in a one-game American League playoff. The pitching of Gene Bearden and the hitting of Lou Boudreau keyed the victory. 1950s * 1950 - Relief ace Jim Konstanty of the Philadelphia Phillies starts and loses Game One of the World Series to Vic Raschi and the Yankees, 1–0. Bobby Brown hit a double and scored the lone run on two long flies. * 1951 - In the opening game of the World Series, Monte Irvin stole home in the first inning and collected four hits. The New York Giants defeated Allie Reynolds and the Yankees 5–1 with Dave Koslo pitching a complete game at Yankee Stadium. Irvin, Hank Thompson and Willie Mays of the Giants became the first black outfield in a World Series game. * 1953 - In Game Five of the World Series, Mickey Mantle hits a grand slam off Russ Meyer, and the Yankees hold on to win, 11–7, over the Brooklyn Dodgers. * 1955 - The Brooklyn Dodgers won their only World Series with Johnny Podres beating the New York Yankees 2–0 in Game Seven. * 1958: **In Game Three of the World Series, New York Yankees pitchers Don Larsen and Ryne Duren combine for a shutout as New York wins 4–0 over the Milwaukee Braves. Hank Bauer accounts for all four runs, including a two-run home run in the seventh inning. **A Tokyo schoolboy star named Sadaharu Oh is signed by the Yomiuri Giants for a bonus of Y13,000,000 (about $55,000). Oh will become one of the most famous players in baseball, setting many world hitting records. * 1959: **At home, Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–1, behind the pitching of Don Drysdale and Larry Sherry in Game Two of the World Series. Carl Furillo's pinch-hit two-run single in the seventh inning is the difference. The attendance of 92,234 sets a new World Series mark. **The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, next to Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, is dedicated. 1960s * 1961 - Whitey Ford's third straight World Series shutout, with home runs by Elston Howard and Bill Skowron, gives the Yankees a 2–0 win in Game One against Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium. * 1962 - In the opener of the World Series at Candlestick Park, Whitey Ford's record scoreless inning streak ends at 33 2/3 when a surprising squeeze-play by José Pagán brings Willie Mays home. The Yankees beat San Francisco, 6–2 – the last of a record 10 World Series victories for Ford. * 1964: **The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the National League pennant with an 11–5 triumph over the New York Mets, ending the closest pennant race in league history. **Larry Jackson's 9–2 victory over the Giants is his 24th win for the Cubs, the most ever for an eighth-place team. Jackson also sets a major league record for pitchers by fielding 109 chances during the season without committing an error. Walter Johnson fielded 103 chances without an error in 1913. **The Philadelphia Phillies bomb the Cincinnati Reds 10–0 as both teams finish one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Phillies and Reds then sit in the visitor's clubhouse and hope that New York Mets pitcher Galen Cisco can stop the Cardinals. The Mets take a 3–2 lead into the fifth inning, but St. Louis scores three runs to regain the lead. New York score once more but the Cardinals complete their scoring with three in the eighth to win 11–5. Bob Gibson wins in relief. For St. Louis, it is their first pennant since 1946. * 1967 - At Fenway Park, St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lou Brock collected four hits, two stolen bases and two runs, as St. Louis defeated the Boston Red Sox 2–1, in Game One of the World Series. Bob Gibson had 10 strikeouts and outdueled José Santiago, whose home run was Boston's only score. * 1969 - Major League Baseball held their first divisional championship games. In the National League Division Series, the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 9–5, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins, 4–3, in the American League Division Series. 1970s * 1971 - Baltimore wins its second straight game in the American League Championship Series, beating the Oakland Athletics 5–1 on four home runs by Boog Powell (two), Brooks Robinson and Elrod Hendricks against Catfish Hunter. * 1972 - Ted Williams manages his final game as the Texas Rangers lose to the Kansas City Royals 4–0. Williams will be replaced by Whitey Herzog. * 1975 - Cincinnati Reds Don Gullett pitched a complete game, and helped himself with a home run, a single and three RBI, to lead his team to an 8–3 win over Pittsburgh in the opening game of the National League Championship Series. The Boston Red Sox, behind Luis Tiant's three-hitter, beats Oakland, 7–1, in the ALCS opener. * 1977 - The Philadelphia Phillies score twice in the ninth inning on singles by Bake McBride, Larry Bowa and Mike Schmidt off Elías Sosa, to beat the Dodgers, 7–5, in the opening game of the NLCS. Ron Cey blasts a grand slam for the Dodgers, and Greg Luzinski homers for the Phillies. * 1978: **Steve Garvey hits two home runs and a triple to pace the Dodgers to a 9–5 victory over the Phillies in Game One of the NLCS. Davey Lopes and Steve Yeager also homer at Veterans Stadium. **The Kansas City Royals notches 16 hits off three Yankees pitchers to even the ALCS with a 10–4 triumph. A two-run home run by Freddie Patek seals the victory. *1979 - Baltimore takes a 9–1 lead in the ALCS Game One, but the Angels score seven runs in the last four innings only to fall short 9–8. Eddie Murray drives in four runs for Baltimore. 1980s * 1980: **Mike Schmidt's two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning gives Philadelphia a 6-4 win over Montreal and the NL East title. The home run is Schmidt's 48th of the season, breaking Eddie Mathews' single-season record for third basemen set in the 1953 season. **The New York Yankees clinch their fourth AL East title in five seasons, beating Detroit 5–2 in the first game of a doubleheader. Reggie Jackson hits his 41st home run of the season and will share the league home run crown with Ben Oglivie of the Milwaukee Brewers. * 1983 - In the NLCS opener, Mike Schmidt's first-inning home run and Al Holland's clutch relief pitching to get out of an eighth-inning bases-loaded jam are enough for Philadelphia to top Los Angeles 1–0. *1984 - The San Diego Padres take a lead in an NLCS game for the first time, and they go on to down the Chicago Cubs, 7–1. * 1987 - The Detroit Tigers took advantage of one of the great collapses in baseball history to win the AL East title, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 1–0 behind the six-hit pitching of Frank Tanana. Toronto lost their last seven games of the season, including three straight in the season-ending series at Detroit. * 1989 - Will Clark goes 4-for-4 with six RBI and two home runs on four hits, including the first National League Championship Series grand slam since 1977, to lead the Giants to an 11–3 win over the Cubs in Game One of the NLCS. 1990s * 1990 - Trailing 3–0 after one inning, the Pirates come from behind to beat Cincinnati 4–3 in Game One of the National League Championship Series. * 1993 - American League owners unanimously approve the sale of the Baltimore Orioles to attorney Peter Angelos and his partners. *1995: **Jim Leyritz hit a two-run home run in the 15th inning to give the Yankees a dramatic victory and a two-games-to-none American League Division Series lead over Seattle. **Cincinnati take a 2-games-to-0 lead in their National League Division Series, defeating the Dodgers, 5–4. Eric Karros hit two home runs and Chad Fonville gets four hits in a losing cause. **In their NLDS, the Atlanta Braves defeat Colorado for the second straight day, 7–4, in a game featuring home runs by Larry Walker of Colorado and Marquis Grissom of Atlanta. **Behind the pitching of Orel Hershiser, Cleveland shuts out the Boston Red Sox, 4–0, for their second victory in their ALDS. * 1996: **Albert Belle hit a grand slam to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 9–4 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Game Three of their ALDS. **The New York Yankees score twice in the ninth inning to defeat Texas, 2–1, despite Juan González's fourth home run of their ALDS. New York takes a 2-games-to-1 lead. * 1997: **A solid pitching performance by Jeff Fassero keeps the Seattle Mariners alive in their ALDS with Baltimore, as Seattle wins by a score of 4–2. **The Yankees goes a game up on Cleveland with a 6–1 victory behind a five-hitter by David Wells. Paul O'Neill hits a fourth-inning grand slam, driving in five of the Yankees runs. * 1998 - San Diego close out the Astros, winning Game 4, 6–1, and taking their National League Division Series. Jim Leyritz and Wally Joyner hit home runs for San Diego. * 1999 - The New York Mets shuts out Cincinnati, 5–0, to become the National League's wild card team. Al Leiter throws a complete game two-hitter for the win, as Mets shortstop Rey Ordóñez plays his 100th consecutive game without committing an error, setting a new major league mark. 2000s * 2000: **San Francisco defeat the Mets, 5–1, in Game One of their National League Division Series. Liván Hernández gets the victory, raising his lifetime postseason play record to 5-0. Ellis Burks' three-run home run is the key hit for San Francisco. **Seattle take a 2-0 lead in their American League Division Series defeating the Chicago White Sox, 5–2. Jay Buhner hits a home run for Seattle while Paul Abbott is the winning pitcher. **The New York Yankees even their ALDS with the Oakland Athletics at one game apiece with a 4–0 victory. Pitcher Andy Pettitte holds Oakland scoreless for seven 2/3 innings for the victory. * 2001: **The San Francisco Giants defeat Houston, 10–2, as Barry Bonds hits his 70th home run of the season to tie the major league mark set by Mark McGwire. Rookie pitcher Wilfredo Rodríguez surrenders the historic blast. **Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres hits a home run to become major league baseball's all-time career runs scored leader with 2,246 as San Diego defeat the Dodgers, 6–3. **Tim Raines plays left field and his son Tim Jr. plays center in the Orioles' 5–4 loss to Boston. They become the second father-son duo to play in the same game, matching the feat turned by Ken Griffey, Sr. and his son Ken Jr. for the Seattle Mariners The Orioles acquired the senior Raines yesterday from the Montreal Expos. * 2002: **The New York Yankees blow a 6–1 lead as the Anaheim Angels bounce back for a 9–6 victory and a two games to one lead in their ALDS. Tim Salmon and Adam Kennedy hit home runs for Anaheim and rookie Francisco Rodríguez again gets the victory in relief. **The Oakland Athletics hit four home runs as pitcher Barry Zito leads his club to a 6–3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Oakland has a two games to one lead in their ALDS. Ray Durham hits an inside-the-park home run to open the game. Scott Hatteberg, Jermaine Dye and Terrence Long also homer for Oakland. *2005: *October 4: **The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 8–5 to take the first game of their National League Division Series. Reggie Sanders set a NLDS record with six RBI, including the third grand slam in Cardinals postseason history in the fifth inning. **The Chicago White Sox rout the Boston Red Sox 14–2 to take the first game of their American League Division Series. The White Sox had an ALDS record-setting five home runs. **Mike Mussina pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, and rookie Robinson Canó lined a three-run double in the first as the New York Yankees defeated Bartolo Colón and the Los Angeles Angels, 4–2, in Game One of their American League Division Series. Births *1910 - Frankie Crosetti, All-Star infielder (d. 2002) *1918 - Red Munger, All-Star pitcher (d. 1996) *1928 - Rip Repulski, All-Star outfielder (d. 1993) *1943 - Jimy Williams, manager *1944 - Tony LaRussa, manager *1949 - John Wathan, catcher and manager *1955 - Lary Sorensen, All-Star pitcher *1956 - Charlie Leibrandt, pitcher *1960 - Joe Boever, pitcher *1960 - Billy Hatcher, outfielder *1960 - Mike Sharperson, All-Star infielder (d. 1996) *1962 - Dennis Cook, pitcher *1962 - Chris James, outfielder *1963 - Bruce Ruffin, pitcher *1964 - Mark McLemore, infielder *1965 - Steve Olin, pitcher (d. 1993) *1967 - Roger Pavlik, All-Star pitcher *1972 - Adam Riggs, infielder Deaths *1934 - Nixey Callahan, player and manager (b. 1874) *1966 - Mike Tresh, All-Star catcher (b. 1914) *1981 - Freddie Lindstrom, Hall of Fame infielder (b. 1905) *1996 - Joe Hoerner, All-Star pitcher (b. 1936) *1998 - Lee Grissom, All-Star pitcher (b. 1907)